Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc)’s retail arm has agreed to buy Shell’s fuel stations in South Africa in a $1 billion transaction, marking the Emirati company’s first entry into Africa’s largest economy.
Adnoc Distribution will take over 580 service stations along with Shell’s wholesale, aviation and lubricants businesses and plans to sell 28 percent of the operation to a local empowerment partner once the deal closes next year.
Shell’s divestment forms part of a broader retreat from non‑core markets as it refocuses on long‑term upstream assets.
The company announced in 2024 that it would exit Shell Downstream South Africa, ending more than a century of operations that began in 1902.
Its withdrawal has been gradual: the Sapref refinery in Durban, a 50:50 venture with BP, halted operations in 2022 and was sold to the state‑owned Central Energy Fund in 2024.
The sale of its retail network now completes Shell’s departure from South Africa’s downstream sector.
Adnoc has emerged as one of the world’s most aggressive energy dealmakers, deploying Abu Dhabi’s oil wealth to acquire assets from the United States to Central Asia.
It beat Gunvor Group to the South African portfolio after earlier talks collapsed and will continue using the Shell brand under a long‑term licensing agreement.
JN/APA